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Growing a Greener World TV in My Garden

March 31, 2010

For a month now I’ve been scrambling, with the help of many friends and my wonderful husband, to get ready for Joe Lamp’l (aka Joe Gardener) to visit my garden and film for a forthcoming episode of season one of Growing a Greener World TV, coming to PBS on May 15, 2010.

Joe Lamp'l Working with Director Carl

It’s been a month of learning a lot about bees, a month of hands-on gardening, a month of beg-borrow-steal-beg-for-help-from-friends, and a month of fun coordination with Joe and his Associate Producer (my friend) Theresa Loe. And, yesterday was the big day. So, of course, the sun barely came out, and it was really cold. Still, I had a fantastic time sharing my garden, the honeybees and insights about what I’ve learned so far about living with urban hives and building habitat to keep these bees happy, healthy and well fed and watered.

As I was putting the final touches on the garden yesterday, I started off the day hoping, wishing, praying and begging the sun to come out. The bees aren’t active in the cold. And, the bees were what the film crew wanted to capture most of all. Why the Winter-That-Never-Came decided to arrive in early Spring on the day that we really didn’t want it, reminded me that Mother Nature is fickle and does whatever she darn well pleases. Fortunately, she didn’t dump rain on us all day. Despite a few sprinkles toward the end of our shooting time, we mostly enjoyed a frigid day with a bit of sunshine. Still, I probably should have worn a coat!

Joe, Theresa and I Discussing Plants Bees Love

Along with my friends Joe and Theresa in the garden, Christina Salwitz also dropped by to say hello and snap loads of photos. When she walked in the door, she greeted me with a heartfelt, touching gift — tiny bee drop earrings by which to remember this day. I popped them in my ears, and I’ll be wearing them all the time from here on out — thank you Christina!

So, now that the ho0pla’s over I can relax a bit in the garden. The first round of spring clean up is done — and probably done better than I would have managed if I didn’t have this motivation. So, how does a gardening addict “relax”? Well, now, it’s time to really dive into getting the first of the edible seedlings out of the hardening off cold frame and into the hoop houses in the garden. Broccoli, cabbage, chard, lettuce and cauliflower are all ready to roll. Sure, they won’t be the ones to feed the bees, but my tomatoes aren’t far behind!

Robin,
Great write up! We had such a blast filming in your garden yesterday. I just got home to Los Angeles a few hours ago and managed to bring home a jar of Ballard Bee Honey in my suitcase! Can’t wait to open it up and remember the fun we had up in Seattle.

Thank you for your hospitality. You kept us fed and watered the whole time. We would have run out of steam if it weren’t for your snacks and hand warmers! And thank you for being such an easy subject on camera. You were a dream!

But most of all thanks for the friendship. It was a real hoot for me to fly up with our team and watch my friend be on our show! Now…get some rest and bask in the glory!

Robin. It was a great afternoon being with you and your garden. You really are a natural for TV and that sure makes the rest of our jobs easier. As Theresa said, between the fantastic garden, the hand warmers, the food…ok, mostly the food, we had an exceptional segment with you. Thanks again and i can’t wait to see it myself.

[…] to tune into Growing a Greener World TV over the months ahead to catch Joe and me chatting about honeybees in my own garden in their honeybee segment in June. And, keep your eyes on the schedule to catch a glimpse of the […]

[…] to tune into Growing a Greener World TV over the months ahead to catch Joe and me chatting about honeybees in my own garden in their honeybee segment in June. And, keep your eyes on the schedule to catch a glimpse of the […]

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